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I could never guess the number of actual Vietnam Vets there are, nor the % still alive. Having spent a year all over Thailand in support of Communist Suppression Operations Center along the Laotian border, and training Thai infantry to deploy in RVN. The New York Times, as always, gets it wrong. What percentage of Vietnam vets are still alive? Had an easy tour given what i was trained for before I got there. Vietnam Vet_combat. I was only there 9-months but others served multiple tours, so I tend to believe the 2.7 3.0 million is probably an accurate number. A lot of guys broke out with rashes every time that sprayed for mosquitos, using Melithon, which was every 2 weeks over all Base Camps. REAL Vietnam War veterans are all those who are officially authorized the Vietnam Service medal and possess official military-issued documentation to confirm their medal authorization. Separately I am working on an article that analyzes how many States are over or under represented in terms of their number of KIAs during and right after the war., Dr. Paul Scipione 11B20 and proud of it. U failed to remember the last name on the Wall was in 1975. hello, The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died. if you were effected by the first or second tour, or as i did, three years back and forth , then you were , are are a veteran. it is branded on you. The military stopped the. In the first part of the journey the mountain would act as a radio (my lifeline) barrier between Camp Enari and the PDL fortified Ville. As I started to slowly stagger upright towards the opposite side of the road, trying with all my might to gain my balance, I went down hard. Yes, Vietnam War veterans are still eligible for various benefits and compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs, including disability compensation, health care, and education benefits. They dont include forces in Guam or Thailand. Where do they thinly get Ella enemys came from? I flew several hundred sorties in a gunship. How many Vietnam Vets die per day? Things that they did not tell you. 2500 to 3000 US Air Force troops stationed in Guam, Thailand, and other countries that were involved in the Vietnam War effort. They used the same aircraft, and there was anything left in the aircraft, whatever the spray for the day was added, so you got both. Again, I see a jumbled view of jungle and sky, and vaguely see a solitary soldier standing over me. The truth is that until Vietnam veterans can agree amongst themselves what constitutes a real Vietnam vet, the debate may continue. That was our regimen along the Cambodian border, too. I opted for love! I dont remember the exact number but remember it was over 500,000 in country and the number was the most ever at one time as the article was about Nixon beginning troop withdrawals that would continue until 1975. It was apparently based on an estimate that 800,000 Vietnam-era veterans had died by 2000. If you have any doubts, take a closer look at your DD-214. She is new to that post, having spent 20+ years as head of coding & analysis at NSA. So do not throw stones at some who got to lay in the same bunk night after night, just because we slept in a dirty hole night after night. While that's a staggering figure is, the actual amount could be higher. Mekong Delta US Army 1969. We did what we felt needed doing. in viet nam, because of the unions, they got more money. All I know is that Im a Vietnam Combat Vet. I have always rounded up to 3,000,000 served in Vietnam..and I read someplace where of that number, only 10% were actually in combat. I was drafted and sent to Germany 66-68 because of the Vietnam War in the 4Armored Division. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. We grunts do hold chopper crews in the highest regard! The New York Times estimated that, of the 8.4 million Vietnam veterans who were still alive in 2000, 1.1 million had died. Additionally, the American War Library approximated that around 164,000 Americans who served at sea in Vietnam waters during the same time are still alive today. Serving during the TET offensive and time after. I would hope they are considered Vietnam combat Vets. As well, those who served in Thailand in late 1973-1975 are often looked down upon as not being real Vietnam Veterans. We are, as we helped conduct many support missions in the region, helped with draw assist during the fall of Cambodia, S. Vietnam and Laos. How old is the oldest living Vietnam veteran? RVN. I served a second tour and know quite a few Marines that did also. If you assumed that 500,000 new troops served there every year from 1962-1975, you still couldnt get to 9,000,000 serving there, so using the peak number is not realistic. IF you didnt get any extra pay better have a good excuse .like to hear it. (There are other locations and occupations also, but lets not muddy the waters in this paragraph.) They were smokers. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. So, where is the discrepancy in these numbers? Please respond! It is estimated that there are around 610,000 surviving Vietnam War veterans as of 2023. Lets ask somebody on Facebook where we can get all the correct true data and facts. if you slept in the same bed more than 4 nights a week you were a REMF doesnt make you a abad guy but you are a remf. Les, in IMHO being a Vietnam Veteran has nothing to do with combat. We all started getting heart attacks around the same time. If you were in Vietnam, you were exposed to Agent Orange, period. Combat Vets and Non Combat Vets. Their is a new book about to be released by Bill Comeau that tells a similar story of the 3rd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Duel with the Dragon about the Battle of Soui Tre that I fought in. I do not know where that number 1 in 14 came from, but in my time in the Army 1962-1970 it was in the range of 1 in 8 to 10 using the total manpower % . Jul 1971-19 Dec 1971) 29th CA Co, XXIV Corps (Danang). But to me, Nam is my whole universe i.e. Dec 1967 Dec 1968 & Jan 1969 Nov 1969. question. There is no definitive answer to this question as it depends on the specific situation and the individual's age, health, and military experience. What Major Is Kent State University Known For? Merchant Marine officers or crew are not wearing the uniform of the USAs Armed Forces. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. According to the American War Library website, it was concluded by the Department of Defense that their best estimate is that between 2,709,918 and 3,173,845 GIs served in Vietnam and its surrounding waters between the years 1954 and 1975. However, typically, the number of World War 2 veterans who die each day is approximately 100. I Never got to Korea but I have friends who got a medal for service in Korea. Were you at Saigon firebase when guys set off grenade in APC ? 3rd Brigade 4th ID attached to the 25th ID 111.40 & 112.40 later these became 11B.40 & 11C.40. Your numbers are way off on the number of Air Force personnel serving in Thailand during the Vietnam war. As a Combat Infantry Veteran those who allow people to assume that they experienced actual combat because they refer to themselves as a Vietnam Vet. It was hot that day; the mosquitoes were going through my mind, and the sun was again brilliant. There are still a lot of us left by some miracle! The dashboard gauges and the gearshift lever approached, as I hit the dashboard with my left side and my head crashed to the floor; My spirit rejoined and I was protected by the firewall. 100,000 or more to suicide and most of those occurred after the men came home. Had several replies over the years that this was not a cause. It was difficult for me to move. Age: 84. Thats what we did in Vietnam we left and am glad we did. The number of people who are Vietnam veterans in the first place is a number that is widely debated. I would say anyone who has drawn Vietnam Hazard Duty pay, 30 dollars for every month or part of any month, in or over country, should qualify. Granted, most of them were deployed for the durationa WWII vet I knew was gone 4 years without coming back to the states. Dave V. 1st Battalion, 14 th FA, Americal Division, VN, I Corps. Im going with 2.9 and saying the person who wrote 9.2 has the seing disease whereas they see everything in reverse. Agreed. 499 days, and 10 days in Sydney, Australia !!!!! and US, 7 Valuable Life Lessons My Navy Dad Taught Me, Understanding The Five Branches of The Military, 3 Things That Could Happen To the Military in a Recession. The book by Hal Moore & Joe Galloway We were soldiers once, and young describe what many of us experienced. Then upon returning I would be stationed in Camp Enari, away from most of the intense fighting, and protected by the whole 4th. It was 3:30pm when I entered the slowest aspect of the trip. NO! Still, other sources like the New York Times claim the number of Vietnam veterans is actually somewhere around 9.2 million. You guys were the lifeblood of our war effort. And your comment about Agent Orange shows that you have no understanding of how the chemical poisoned everyone who set foot in Vietnam. So, nearly 300,000 over the 14 years of their operations, a far cry above the 2500-3000 referenced in the article. I got angry at him even saying that he was a vet of the war. 8,113,000 are still alive (May 2000) Post navigation I have VSM on my DD215 which deleted the AFEM on my DD214. According to Department of Veterans Affairs' projections, Vietnam Veteran deaths will hit 103,890 this year, about 285 a day. the man ahead of me had been in rome for a religious tour. I asked him to give me his number, he did not put a number on it just that he was Not. Those of us on the battlefield who bled and many died would take issue with your opinion. and by the way, they never got benefits after their time at sea. . I suppose we were rear echelon, but I dispute anyone calling us REMF. Defining Combat Veterans, tell us what number you give yourself, we have a controversy here with a candidate for Governor, he claims now that he is a combat veteran, but he told me in his campaign for the House seat he presently holds, that he was NOT a combat veteran. References:https://www.americanwarlibrary.com/personnel/vietvet.htmhttps://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/science/how-many-vietnam-veterans-are-still-alive.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War, The Armys FY 2023 budget request is ~$177.5 Billion. Active Duty: 473,000 My cousin was with the 82nd and was there when the TET offensive happened. I went on about 500 missions. So, where is the discrepancy in these numbers? Based on data through September 30, 2020, VetPop2020 provides a projection of the Veteran population at each fiscal year end from 2020 to 2050. Veterans support veterans, their stories and we bristle at those who would steal their history, we are not Valor Police, but those who pretend are an insult to those of who struggle with that past. And, if you think 75% of actual Vietnam Vets (especially after Covid, and more than 50 years of time) are still alive, youre kidding yourself. I pulled up to the local tailor shop to fix some of my fatigue pants. These numbers have come about due to the extensive research of various mortality indexes and sources by the American War Library which concluded that about one-third of those who served in the Vietnam War are still alive today. Bill, My question, How many guys are I still alive refers to the ones who were in direct combat action? Of the nearly 3Mil that served, only one in twelve were in fire fights. My brother was stationed in the Air Force in 1975 and flew missions over Vietnam. Combat veterans will share their experiences with other veterans especially combat veterans (CIB). There were an estimated 58,318 U.S. soldier casualties alone. The article states that The youngest Vietnam Veteran is aged in the late 60s today. To this day, I dont know how I was transported from the right-side dirt shoulder but ending up in the center of the dusty road. Or is this a total number of vets with all the other countries that supported us . I turned left into the open valley dirt road that lead to the OP, crossed the blue line (river or stream on a map) and raced through the dense, triple canopy jungle to the open valley floor. in only 6-10 years.. . All the millions of other Vietnam Era Veterans are Cold War Veterans. i was a merchant marine officer, technically a civilian. i sailed with some in vn at the end of the work lives. Everyone that served and was in combat which means they were in the line of fire (received it and returned it in some form or fashion) deal with their dark side in various ways. There are no foolproof questions. two weeksOver 10% of Vietnam casualties were helicopter crew members, and most of those were the door gunners that protected the helicopter, its crew, and its transports, from their exposed position. 1st cav div. Findings are made available to the public in an Annual Report. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. https://www.americanwarlibrary.com/personnel/vietvet.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War. in any event, i went as soon as i was contacted by the draft board. The average age of our Vietnam veterans is now over 70. Phu Loi Nov 66 to Dec 67 HHD 11th Cbt Avn Bn. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen. Just like ALL Vets who served DURING WWII are classified as WWll Vets regardless of where they served. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Other sappers were shooting their AKs at any targets. We all served the same, but different. I served in Vietnam from Jul 68 to Jul 69. Thank you. According to the American War Library, as of February 28, 2019, it is estimated that approximately 610,000 Americans who served in land forces during the Vietnam War or in air missions over Vietnam between 1954 and 1975 are still alive to this day. One other thing I would like to know, when Jane Fonda was sitting on that anti aircraft gun in Hanoi did they let her try to use it. I have done lots of research, read a bunch of historical history, and met and talked to well over 1000 NAM VETS !!!!! but i was happy to serve. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". for most of it i listened but not wanting to interfere. I was searching aria, even though these ruts are a real bitch! I was jostled and jerked by the truck over the dusty road. It makes a big difference because stating that only one-third of Vietnam veterans are still alive today is much harsher than stating that three-quarters of Vietnam veterans are still alive and well. drafted in 1966, Vietnam 1967-68 with the 1st infantry Division.now 75!!!! Tough and crazy. I am trying to see if the NJ Adjutant Generals Office still has a couple copies around. Im a 1967-68 Vietnam combat veteran. remember) there will likely be a debate as to how Whether you were sprayed or not makes no difference, and YOU ARE NOT required to prove anything other than being present in Vietnam.